Had informed High Command previously: Tharoor shuts down rift talks over skipping Congress meet

Kozhikode, Jan 24 : Senior Congress leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor on Saturday sought to play down speculation over his absence from a key meeting of Kerala Congress leaders convened by the party high command in Delhi on Friday, asserting that there was no political subtext to his decision and that any concerns he had were already conveyed internally.

Tharoor’s absence from the meeting, chaired by the party’s central leadership amid preparations for the upcoming Assembly elections, triggered intense media speculation.

Several reports linked his non-attendance to alleged discontent over his treatment at a party meeting in Kochi earlier this week, which was attended by Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi.

The narrative quickly snowballed into talk of internal discord within the Kerala unit of the Congress.

Responding to these claims while interacting with the media on Saturday, Tharoor categorically declined to air any internal differences in public.

“Whatever I wanted to say, I have told the party leadership. It is not right that I discuss this publicly,” he said, underlining that discussions within the Congress would remain confined to party forums.

He acknowledged that media reports were inevitable but cautioned against reading too much into them.

“The media might say several things. Some might be right, some might be wrong,” Tharoor remarked, refusing to confirm or deny whether he was upset with recent developments in the party.

Explaining his absence from the Delhi meeting, Tharoor said he had informed the party leadership well in advance that he would not be able to attend.

He cited logistical constraints and prior commitments, noting that it was not feasible to cancel the engagement or travel back from Delhi to Kozhikode within the available timeframe.

“I had already informed the leadership earlier that I wouldn’t attend. It is not possible to cancel this, and it is not easy to come back from Delhi to Kozhikode,” he said.

Tharoor also clarified that his presence in Kozhikode was linked to the release of his latest book at a literary festival, an event he was keen not to miss.

Recalling that he had skipped the Jaipur Literature Festival earlier due to political commitments, he said he did not want to forgo another such engagement.

“I had to miss the Jaipur Literary Fest once for political programmes. I didn’t want to miss this literary fest also, that is why I came here,” he explained.

Reiterating his stance, Tharoor said any issues he wished to raise would be addressed within the party. “What I had to say, I will tell inside the party,” he said, firmly drawing the curtain on public speculation.

CWC member and senior legislator Ramesh Chennithala pointed out that Tharoor unlike them is not just a politician as he is a very strong literary person as well, so it needs to be seen in that light only.